Smokehouses generally include several chambers through which meat is conveyed to be treated. Typical smokehouses include heating chambers, chilling chambers, smoking chambers, holding chambers, and salt or brine wash chambers An example of such a smokehouse is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,371,305 to the inventor of the present invention and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
It is desirable to convey a plurality of racks carrying meat thereon through a smokehouse simultaneously. In order to accomplish this result, the smokehouse must be adapted to treat various different types of meat for various periods in the various different chambers of the smokehouse Prior art assemblies utilize continuous belts and specific trolley mechanisms which would drop racks in certain chambers for certain periods of time and then pick up the racks and carry them to the next chamber Smaller smokehouses have found this assembly to be quite expensive. These prior art assemblies further do not provide for sufficient flexibility in the system.
The present invention provides a novel conveying means for a smokehouse which is adaptable to smaller smokehouses at a reduced cost.
Problems also arise in smokehouses due to hot spots in each of the heating chambers. Hot spots occur where heat is not even distributed through the chamber, resulting in inconsistent smoking and cooking of the meats throughout the chamber.
The present invention provides means for eliminating hot spots and evenly distributing heat and smoke throughout the chambers so as to evenly cook and smoke all of the meats within each chamber.
Further problems arise in the smoking process when various chambers are not isolated from adjacent chambers For example, it is highly undesirable for brine spray from a brine spray chamber to enter adjacent heating or cooling or holding chambers. The present invention provides means for isolating chambers while utilizing a minimum amount of adjacent space.